Pentagon Gets $617B, Scores of F-35 Fighters in $717B Defense Bill

The $717 billion defense bill that Congress sent to the desk of President Donald Trump authorizes the Pentagon to go on a military shopping spree while also handing troops their biggest pay raise in a decade, CNBC reports.

The 2019 National Defense Authorization Act provides a 2.6 percent pay increase for troops and includes $616.9 billion for the Pentagon's base budget, CNBC reports.

It also authorizes the Pentagon to bolster its military arsenal, according to CNBC:

• $7.6 billion for 77 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters by Lockheed.
• $1.56 billion for 3 littoral Navy combat ships.
• $284 million for Army's THAAD missile defense systems.
• $225.3 million for Stryker A1 combat vehicles.
• $85 million for UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopters.
• 13 Navy warships overall.

Fully funds the Air Force's new long-range stealth B-21 bombers.

It also funds the modernization and upgrades to the Army's more than 3,800 combat vehicles, CNBC reports.

The NDAA also bars the delivery of F-35 jets to Turkey over concerns that Ankara also plans to purchase a Russian missile defense system, CNBC reports.

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